Clint Dempsey jumped high in the air, both arms raised, as a fan in the stands at Fulham unfurled a Lone Star flag.

On this January afternoon in London, Dempsey had become the first American to score a hat trick in the history of the English Premier League. The eyes of English soccer were on the 28-year-old from Nacogdoches.

With 16 goals this season, the Texas trailblazer is destroying the image of the U.S. as a nation still searching for a top scorer.

"Being an American, I think you have a little bit of a chip on your shoulder because there's a point to prove," Dempsey said this week as the U.S. national team prepared for Wednesday's exhibition game at Italy. "I guess you'll kind of feel that way until maybe you're doing better as a country as far as going further in World Cups or you have Americans who are playing on the biggest teams in the world."

Craven Cottage is a quaint, Wrigley Field-type stadium next to the Thames in southwest London. Dempsey walks onto the field before games, turns and blows kisses to his family sitting in the Cottage Pavilion seats, above the locker rooms.

He's given Fulham, which has never won a major title in its 133 years, reason to cheer. Dempsey has had the best season by an American attacking player in England. His 10 league goals (nearly one-third of Fulham's 32) raised his total to 43 since he was bought from Major League Soccer's New England Revolution in January 2007, and eclipsed the 36 by Brian McBride from 2003-08.

It's smashing no matter the nationality. Only seven players have more EPL goals this season, a starry group that includes Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Sergio Aguero, Demba Ba, Edin Dzeko, Ayegbeni Yakubu and Emmanuel Adebayor.

"I think what he is doing and the attention he is getting is long overdue," said former U.S. national team forward Eric Wynalda, now a commentator for Fox Soccer. "Not only is he a constant performer, constantly earning his spot in the team, in my opinion, he's scoring a lot of goals from deep positions. He's not always playing up front, and that impresses the hell out of me."

Having never scored more than twice in a professional game, Dempsey had not just one, but a pair of hat tricks last month. First, he scored twice from the run of play and then added a penalty kick Jan. 7 in a 4-0 rout of third-tier Charlton in the FA Cup.

Exactly two weeks later, he scored three times from the run of play against goalkeeper Tim Krul in a 5-2 league win over Newcastle.

"It's always good to be doing well and to get accolades and stuff like that. But I'm not trying to be the first American to do this," he said. "I'm just trying to be the best player that I possibly can be."

Scoring against Ghana in 2006 and England in 2010, Dempsey joined McBride as the only Americans to score in two World Cups (Landon Donovan matched the feat later in the 2010 tournament). A week shy of his 29th birthday, Dempsey hopes to be adding to that total at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. The game in Genoa is a prep for the start of qualifying for the Americans in June.